1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hard disk unit, an information processing method and a program which provide excellent data security by encoding write data with an encoding key specific to host equipment.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, with the progress of information processing technology and high-accuracy magnetic recording technology, a hard disk unit has been in widespread use as a large-capacity external storage which is connected to or mounted on various information equipment (hereinafter referred to as host equipment) such as a personal computer or a car navigation system and which is used for reading and writing data.
On such a hard disk unit, file-based encoding has been made or input of an ID or a password specific to a user has been requested for authentication by a BIOS, an OS, or an application program in order to protect copyrighted material including an image, a music, a moving picture and an application program as well as personal information and secret information on business from illegal duplication or unauthorized duplication by a third party (see JP-A-2000-311114).